Judge denies charges relating to Chris Huhne case

Britain's most eminent black Judge has appeared in the dock of the Old Bailey
to deny perverting the course of justice after allegedly lying to police
over her part in Chris Huhne's speeding points scandal.

Barrister and part-time judge Constance Briscoe arrives at the Old Bailey, central London, she is accused of perverting the course of justice in connection with the Chris Huhne casePhoto: PA

By Agencies

9:37AM BST 04 Oct 2013

Constance Briscoe, 56, is accused of providing Essex Police with two inaccurate statements and producing a copy of a witness statement that had been altered. The offences carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Briscoe is accused of regularly briefing journalists over several months about how Mr Huhne, 58, had forced his former wife Vicky Pryce, 60, to take his penalty points so he would not lose his driving licence.

The high-profile barrister and part-time judge was arrested last year and twice interviewed under caution over allegations she lied in a witness statement when she said she had not spoken to the media about the episode.

Today, Briscoe pleaded not guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice and is due to face trial, estimated to last five days, at Southwark Crown Court on January 14.

It is alleged that, between May 16, 2011, and October 6, 2012, Briscoe provided police with two statements which were inaccurate.

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In the second charge it is alleged that on October 6, 2012, Briscoe produced a copy of a witness statement that had been altered and that she maintained was the correct version.

Prosecutors had intended to call her to give what they thought would be damning evidence against Mr Huhne at his trial for perverting the course of justice but the Crown later withdrew her. She has been suspended from the judiciary.

Miss Briscoe, one of the first black women to sit as a judge in Britain, lives a few doors down from Ms Pryce and Mr Huhne's marital home in Clapham, south London, and has been friends with them for many years.